zipped magazine

MAGAZINEISSUE 3 MAY/JUNE 2012F E S T I V A L S P E C I A L

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Benicassim Primavera Sonar Sonisphere Bilbao Rockwertcher Graspop Tomorrowland Hurricane Rock AM Ring WackeLollapalloozaBonnaroooDeLunaHieneken Open’erTavronAudiodriverT in the ParkDownloadCreamfieldsWickermanBestival

INTERVIEWS+Tony ButlerFarthersonVic GallowayLiam GolderJim GellatlyKith & KinAlly MacRaeLee-Ann HowiesonLaw of the Chord

CONTENTS

Page 2 – Mastermind it aint but our quiz will

still test your music knowledge

– We want to know what you think so

get in touch, right?!

Page 5 – Your definitive guide this year’s

festivals, at home and abroad

Page 29 – Ally MacRae, Vic Galloway,

Wecamefromwolves and Fatherson are probed

in our UNZIPPED interview section

Page 39 – Reviews: What we think about

stuff

Editor’s Letter

Work here at Zipped Towers has

continued at a frenzied pace for

issue 3: interviewing, writing,

researching, listening to music,

going to gigs . . . man it’s a hard

life! This ‘festival special’ issue

has definitely been the most fun

to put together because most

of the Zipped Team are keen

festival-goers so it’s a subject

close to our hearts. The ‘unzipped’

interviews section has also been

very entertaining, with a so many

responses that we haven’t got the

space to include them all!

I want to say a big thanks to

my super smashing group of

contributors – Steven, Lindsay,

JohnJoe, Jennifer and Marc who

continue to give their blood, sweat

and tears (well not quite but you

know what I mean) to this magazine

– cheers guys – YOU’RE BRAW.

I would also like to thank all you

lovely lot who keep reading our

magazine and spreading the

word about it’s greatness. Please

continue to do so.

Annabel Bromley

Page 1

?THINK YOUKNOW MUSIC

“ T a k e T h e Z i p p e d Q u i z ”

1) Which of these bands got their name by throwing a dart at a map?a - The Bay City Rollers b - Chicagoc - Buffalo Springfield

2) U2 recorded an album which they said was intended to “chop down The Joshua Tree.” Which was it?a - Achtung, Baby b - Under a blood red skyc - Zooropa

3) Which of these greatest hits of the Rolling Stones was covered by Duran Duran, among other bands?a - (I Can’t Get No) Satisfactionb - Mother’s Little Helperc - Paint It Black

4) Which revived pseudo band played Super Bowl XXXI in 1997 with James Brown and ZZ Top?a – The Archies b - The Monkeesc - The Blues Brothers

5) What artist recorded “Cracked Rear View,” the 16th best-selling album of all time?a - Hootie and the Blowfishb - Alanis Morissettec - Garth Brooks

6) Which band was co-founded by Damon Albarn of Blur and consists of four cartoon characters?a - Gorillaz b - The Chipmunksc - The Mosquitoes

7) What was the reason Elvis gave for saying, “I lose myself in singing … I’m limp as a rag, worn out when the show’s over”?a - Dancing too hard onstage wore him out after concertsb - Background training in soulful gospel hymns took it out of him c - Keeping screaming fans at bay while in concert was exhausting

8) What song was the first to put Madonna in the Billboard Top 100?a – Holidayb – Borderlinec - Lucky Star

9) Beatles co-founder John Lennon was shot to death by which man?a - Lee Harvey Oswaldb - Mark David Chapmanc - Henry Lee Lucas

10) Which band’s 1977 rare, mint-condition “God Save the Queen” single sells for about $25,000?a - The Sex Pistolsb - The Stranglersc - The Buzzcocks A

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?A

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Page 2

ZIPPED TEAMC o n t a c t u s a t Z i p p e d m a g a z i n e @ y a h o o . c o . u k

Annabel BromleyE d i t o r

John JoeCameronW r i t e r

Jennifer Kucza

F a s h i o nE d i t o r

LindsayWrapson

P r o m o t i o n s

Steven AndersonD i s i g n e r

Marc Thain

Advertising

@ZippedMagazine

@ZippedMag

Page 3

F E S T I V A L S P E C I A LC o n t a c t u s a t Z i p p e d m a g a z i n e @ y a h o o . c o . u k

DON’T FORGET

Here at Zipped Towers, we have a wealth of knowledge and experience when it

comes to festivals. Collectively we have been to over 20 different festivals ranging from the familiarity of ‘T in the Park’ to the less well known ‘I Love Techno’

in Belguim so what we don’t know about festivals aint worth knowing. In this feature we have tried to give you a broad overview of the options available to anyone up for travelling that wee bit further than your own doorstep. We have chosen to cover Spain, Germany,

Poland, Belgium and the USA as well as giving you some details of UK festivals. Once you’ve decided on which festival you fancy, follow our Festival Essentials Guide to help you decide what you really need to take with you.

We are of the firm belief that less is most definitely more when it comes to packing your festival rucksack (ruckies are much easier to carry

than any other type of bag). That trek from your car/bus drop off point to where you’re pitching your tent is an absolute nightmare so make life easy on yourself and follow our little guide.There’s no need to take loads of changes of clothes because we all know you’ll end up wearing the same pants for four days. There’s no shame in that, we’ve all done it. But please remember that it does get really cold during the night (especially in Scotland) so take some cosy clothes to slip into when you get back to your tent. And how much time will you actually spend sleeping? Answer: Very little, so we reckon blow up mattresses are a waste of time too. When it comes to food (for those of you who will be eating something other than your own faces) we think that there’s no need to take lots of grub with you because there is usually such a wide variety of food to chose from within the festival itself. However, we do recommend taking plenty of juice or water, a couple of chocolate bars and maybe a couple of packets of crisps. Once you are ready to head into the festival arena, we recommend you and your group of friends agree on a meeting point (ours is always front right of the dance tent) so that if anyone gets separated from the group, you’ll know where to find them. Another top tip would be to mark your tent somehow, maybe with a flag or something tied to a guy rope, so that you can find it more easily later on. And if you would like to avoid that horrendous, stuffy heat which can build up inside your tent then attach some space blankets to the outside of your tent to deflect the sun’s rays.

Tickets!Tent, sleeping bag &

camping chair

Wellies & waterproof jacket

Cosy jumper, socks & hat

(for back at campsite)

Baby wipes, dry shampoo,

hand sanitizer (aka Dundee

shower)Toilet roll

Bin bagsTorchSun cream (well you never

know!)Paracetamol

Condoms (again, you never

know)Plenty of water/juice

Last but not least DRRRINK!

(no glass bottles allowed)

Now you’re well prepared

for anything that a festival

can throw at you, all that

remains to be said is:

Be good kids, and above all

else – HAVE FUN!!

Page 5

SP

AIN Established in 1994 and

now in its 18th year, the International Benicàssim Festival (FIB), near

Valencia, Spain is back for 2012 from Thursday 12th until Sunday 15th July. With camping from 9th until 16th July included the ticket price, all night music over 4 days, and sited just walking distance from the beach and a huge water park. This festival is ideal for those revellers who like to party hard.Capacity - 80,000Dates – 12th to 15th July 2012Ticket Price - £155 (four days with camping)Getting there – Fly to Valencia (then 40mins shuttle bus to festival site), Madrid (then 1hr fast train), Barcelona & Alicante (4hr bus journey)Info - www.fiberfib.comLine-up - Bob Dylan, Miles Kane, Jessie J, The Stone Roses, New Order, Florence & The Machine, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, David Guetta, Ed Sheeran, Chase & Status, De La Soul, Dizzee Rascal, Bat For Lashes, Bombay Bicycle Club, Crystal Castles, Dave Clarke, Example, The Horrors, The Maccabees, The Vaccines.

F e s t i v a l I n t e r n a t i o n a l d e B e n i c à s s i m

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Situated right on the coast with some stages actually on the beach, the friendly non-camping

event creates a nice atmosphere to soak up the music on offer. Primavera Sound 2012 takes place at the Parc del Forum, Barcelona, Spain between Wednesday 30th May until Sunday 3rd June. Primavera Sound offers six outdoor stages and one of the biggest auditoriums in Europe. With events throughout Barcelona for the week surrounding the festival, this is more like a massive summer party than your average festival. Please remember that camping or accommodation is not included so you’ll need to book your own.Capacity - 100,000Dates – 30th May to 3rd June 2012Ticket Price - €180Getting there – Fly direct to Barcelona Info - www.primaverasound.comLine-up - The Cure, Bjork, Refused, St Etienne, Black Lips, Beirut, Melvins, Franz Ferdinand, Death In Vegas, , Justice, Mudhoney, Shellac, The Drums, Washed Out, The XX, Marianne Faithfull, M83

The annual three-day music festival returns to Barcelona for its nineteenth year. Sónar

By Day takes place in the Center of Contemporary Culture and the Museum of Contemporary Art very near to La Rambla. It usually starts around Midday and continues until around 10pm for each of the three days of the festival. This part of the festival features live bands, DJs, multimedia art, record/clothes stalls, demonstrations, a cinema, and many other activities. Sónar by Night takes place away from the centre of Barcelona; special coaches transport festival goers to the SonarPark housing four arenas showcasing DJs, VDJs and live entertainment. This is a non-camping event so festival goers will need to arrange their own accommodation.Capacity - 80,000Dates – 14th to 16th June 2012Ticket Price - €155Getting there – Sonar by day is located in the city centre so just fly direct to Barcelona Info - www.sonar.esLine-up - Lana Del Rey, The Roots, Deadmau5, Hot Chip, Modeselektor, James Blake dj, Fatboy Slim, Richie Hawtin, Amon Tobin’s ISAM, Squarepusher, Nicolas Jaar, Luciano, Azari & III, Jacques Lus Cont, Friendly Fires, Metronomy, John Talabot, Mouse On Mars, BBC Radio 1 presents Annie Mac & guests and showcases from Hyperdub, Brainfeeder.

Page 7

The world’s largest touring rock festival is back in Spain for its fourth year,

this year visiting Getafe Open Air, Madrid. Despite the British event at Knebworth being cancelled this year, the other tour dates continue in Poland, Switzerland, Finland and France.Capacity - 80,000Dates – 25th and 26th May 2012Ticket Price - €69 per day or €120 for ‘black circle’ ticketsGetting there – Fly direct to Madrid, shuttle buses will transport you to festival site. Info - www.es.sonisphere.euLine-up - Metallica, Soundgarden, Slayer, Limp Bizkit, Enter Shikari, Within Temptation, Mastodon, Children of Bodom, Kyuss Lives, Gojira, Clutch, Orange Goblin, Skindred, Ghost, Vita Imana, Sister, The Offspring, Evanescence, Machine Head, Fear Factory, Paradise Lost, Rise to Remain, Kobra And the Lotus, Six Hour Sundown.

BBK Live festival is a three day festival that takes place in the outskirts of Bilbao on north coast of Spain. Now in its 7th year this festival has three main stages, there are two dance tents, a pop tent, a chillout area, food stalls and a campsite. Doors open at 4pm every day, and close at 3am every night.

Capacity - 40,000Dates – 12th to 14th July 2012Ticket Price - €88 for 3 days with campingGetting there – From Bilbao airport there are regular public buses to central Bilbao. Once in central Bilbao the festival provides shuttle buses to the site or it’s a 15 minute walk.Info - www.bilbaobbklive.comLine-up - Radiohead, The Cure, The Kooks, Glasvegas, Noah and the Whale, Snow Patrol, Band of Skulls, Mumford & Sons, The Maccabees, Garbage, Bloc Party, Enter Shikari, Four Tet, Young Guns, Pure Love, Ben Howard, The Jon Spencer Blues Band Explosion, Here We Go Magic, and Zea May.

Page 8

Rock Werchter is a Belgian annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near

Leuven, since 1974. It is one of the five biggest annual rock music festivals in Europe (the other four being Oxegen, Sziget Festival, the Glastonbury Festival and Roskilde Festival). The 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 festivals received the Arthur award for best festival in the world at the International Live Music Conference (ILMC). Rock Werchter is one of Europe’s biggest festivals and this year’s huge line-up is, in a word, amazing. Having both the money and the reputation has enabled Rock Werchter festival to secure acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, blink-182, Pearl Jam, The Cure, Incubus, Rise Against, Snow Patrol, The Kooks, Florence + the Machine, The xx, Beirut, The All-American Rejects, Kasabian and Justice – to name just a few. Dates – 28th June to 1st July 2012Capacity - 80,000Ticket Price - €79 for day tickets, €195 for 4 days with camping (all include transport)Getting there – Fly direct Brussels with BMI or Ryanair to Charleroi. Present your festival ticket at any train station anywhere in Belgium and get the train to Leuven for free. A shuttle bus from Leuven Train Station will then take you to the festival site.Info - www.rockwerchter.be/enB

ELG

IUM

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GMM has evolved over the years, taking heed of the bands that the festival goers wanted back, most notably

Motörhead, Ramones and Paradise Lost, and moving in that direction to eventually become the metal fest we know today. Previous headliners include Slayer, Saxon, Megadeth and Iron Maiden. GMM brings in an enormous crowd and supplies a wide range of bands to satisfy them, but bear in mind, although it didn’t start out as a metal festival, there’s no doubt now about the type of music you’ll hear at GMM with this year’s line up including Guns N’ Roses, Megadeth, Children of Bodom, Slayer, Killswitch Engage, Limp Bizkit, Lamb of God, Motörhead, Godsmack, Amon Amarth, Ozzy Osbourne, Dimmu Borgir, Trivium, Machine Head and Ensiferum. Dates – 22nd to 24th July 2012Capacity: 90,000Ticket Price - €80 for day tickets, €150 for 4 days with camping (all include transport)Getting there – Fly direct Brussels with BMI or Ryanair to Charleroi. Present your festival ticket at any train station anywhere in Belgium and get the train to Mol for free. A shuttle bus from Mol Train Station will then take you to the festival site.Info - www. graspop.be/en

Page 10

Tomorrowland Festival is slightly smaller than the likes of Rockwerchter, but is also more genre specific. Carving

a name out as a top dance festival by drawing in a variety of the top DJ’s and electronic artists. The line up includes – Pendulum, David Guetta, Fatboy Slim, Calvin Harris, The Bloody Beetroots, Above & Beyond, Martin Solveig, Skrillex, Sven Väth and John O’Callaghan.Dates – 27th to 29th JulyCapacity: 40,000Ticket Price - €72.50 for day tickets, €172.50 for 3 days with camping (all include transport)Getting there – Fly direct Brussels with BMI or Ryanair to Charleroi. Present your festival ticket at any train station anywhere in Belgium and get the train to Boom for free. A shuttle bus from Boom Train Station will then take you to the festival site.Info - www. tomorrowland.be/en

Page 11

GE

RM

AN

YThe Hurricane Festival is a

music festival that takes place in Scheessel near Bremen, Germany, usually every June.

The festival and its guests are generally associated with the alternative part of mainstream music, although the festival has been becoming more and more mainstream over the years. The Southside Festival, often referred to as the daughter of Hurricane, takes place on the same three days in the very south of Germany. Together they are a twin festival, since they are on the same days and usually have the same line up with only few exceptions.Capacity – 75,000+Dates – 22nd – 24th JuneTicket prices – 3 day ticket is 131 Euros including a 10 Euro waste deposit (with camping and parking)Getting there - Because of the relatively remote location of the festival, there are only two transport options. One was to take the Deutsch Bahn to Scheessel and walk approximately 1500m to the festival and camping area. The other is to drive/car share; the promoters of the festival encourage people to car share.Info – www.hurricane.deLine up - The Mars Volta, The Shins, Eagles Of Death Metal, The Temper Trap, Ed Sheeran, Band Of Skulls, Bombay Bicycle Club, Die Antwoord, Spector, The Black Box Revelation, Young Guns, Blink 182, The Stone Roses, Florence + The Machine, The Cure, Garbage, Beirut, Mumford & Sons, The xx, New Order, Noel Gallagher and High Flying Birds, Bat For Lashes, Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls, M83, The Vaccines, Less Than Jake, My Morning Jacket, Justice and Beardyman.

Page 12

The Rock am Ring (Rock at the Ring) and Rock im Park (Rock in the Park) festivals are two simultaneous rock music festivals held annually in Germany. Both festivals are usually regarded as one event with a mostly identical line up for both festivals. All artists perform one day at Nürburgring and another day in Nuremberg during the three day event. There have been minor exceptions in the past years where an artist will be announced for one of the festivals only. Together Rock im Park and Rock am Ring are the largest music festivals in Germany and one of the largest in the world with a combined attendance of just over 150,000 people in 2007, selling out both events in advance for the first time.Capacity – 150,000Dates – 1st – 3rd JuneTicket price – 175 Euros Getting there - The closest airports are Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Frankfurt Hahn. From there you can take the train to Koblenz or Ahrbrück where you can catch a festival bus to the Nürburgring. Line up - Cypress Hill, Keane, Peter Doherty, Mastodon, Chase & Status, Linkin Park, Metallica playing the ‘Black Album’, and Die Toten Hosen celebrating their 30th anniversary. Plus Soundgarden, Gossip, The Offspring, Skrillex, Tenacious D, Anthrax, Cancer Bats, Crystal Castles, Evanescence, Example, Maximo Park, Steel Panther, The Hives, The Maccabees, The Ting Tings, Tinie Tempah, Kasabian, The Subways, Enter Shikari, Motorhead, Marilyn Manson, Machine Head, Killswitch Engage, and Opeth.Info – www.rock-am-ring.com

Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. It attracts all kinds of metal music fans, including black metal, death metal, power metal, thrash metal, gothic metal, nu metal, folk metal, and even metalcore and hard rock.The festival was first held in 1990 as a small event for local German bands. By 1998 the event had become the major festival on the European metal calendar and has included over 70 bands from all over Europe, North America and Australia. Since 2002, the Wacken Firefighters, the local volunteer fire department band, opens the festival.The 2009 edition set a sales record; it sold out on 30 December 2008. All 70,000 tickets were sold over 200 days before the opening of the festival. However, the 2012 edition broke this record; sold out on 29th November, a good 8 months before the opening of the festivalCapacity – 70,000Dates – 2nd – 4th AugustTicket price – 140 Euros Getting there – Fly to Hamburg or Bremen and then catch the shuttle bus direct to festival site. The nearest train station is Itzehoe and shuttle buses also operate from here. Info – www.wacken.comLine up - Mono Inc. and Agro. Amaranthe, Amon Amarth, Aura Noir, Axel Rudi Pell, Broilers, Chthonic, CircleIICircle, Coroner, Cradle of Filth, Crimes of Passion, D-A-D, Danko Jones SW, Dark Funeral, Darkest Hour, Dead by April, Decapitated, and Delain.

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Lollapalooza all began with “a man, a plan, and a caravan” – Perry Farrell being the man who had the plan to start a farewell

show for his fable alternative rock group: “Jane’s Addiction”. His idea quickly transformed into a “larger than life musical road show” that would bring both music and culture together for everyone. With now hitting its 20th year, Chicago is home to Lollapalooza and having made place at Grant Park in 2005, it’s been content there since. The festival is said to be all about the fans and from spanning out over 115 acres and multiple stages it offers their fans with a diverse selection of over 130 artists every summer. “These last twenty years have been a hell of a ride, so here’s to twenty more!”Dates – August 3rd – 5th 2012Ticket Prices – 3 day camping passes $230, day tickets (Fri-Sun) $95 eachGetting there – Fly to Chicago, then The Chicago Transit Authority will provide buses and trains to access the festival site.Capacity – 30,000Line-up - The Black Keys, NERO, Band of Skulls, Black Sabbath, Porter Robinson, SBTKRT, Passion Pit, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Avicii, Calvin Harris, Alabama Shakes, Franz Ferdinand, The Temper Trap, Bloc Party, Justice, Jack White, Bombay Bicycle Club, Florence and the Machine and many many more.More info: www.lollapalooza.com

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Being a baby when it comes to the festival family, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival began in 2002 making this year its 10th birthday. The name, Bonnaroo, translated

means “a really good time” and if that is what you’re after, Bonnaroo is definitely for you! With three of “the best days ever”, it beholds 700 acres of the Tennessee Nature, and puts on over 150 alternatively tasted memorable performances year after year. With over 10 stages of musical madness and the laughter created from many comedians, it’s described to be “an escape into excitement” with a long weekend of music, art, discoveries, nature, an adventure and it’s even topped off with a mini film fest. What deems to be a rather hippy and go happy festival, Bonnaroo is determined to bring its fans with dozens of high fives, strangers to hug, overwhelming happiness and the best weekend of your year.Dates – June 7th- 10th Ticket Prices - $259.50 for 4 days of festival admission and car parking. (As well as offering other bonus packages)Getting there – Fly to Nashville International Airport where regular shuttle buses will take you direct to the festival site.Capacity – 80,000 Happy CampersLine-up – The Beach Boys, Bon Iver, Foster the People, Skrillex, The Roots, Alice Cooper, Ludacris, Major Lazer, Two Door Cinema Club, Punch Brothers, Bad Brains, Trampled by Turtles, Laura Marling, The Devil Makes Three, White Denim, Ben Howard, Alabama Shakes, The Kooks, The War On Drugs, The Lonely Forest and more to be announced! More info: www.bonnarooo.com

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What seems to have turned into a history lesson of a festival’s background, it started with one founder who

fought his way across ferocious seas, Don Tristan De Luna, a Spanish conquistador, (try saying that quickly) landed on Pensacola Beach, Florida. It appeared that this fellow was a party animal, and after him and his crew launched an ongoing party (that has said to be the mother of beach parties) which went extraordinary well – until a hurricane came and ended it a few months later. However, with the bad came the good and in 2010 America’s “original” beach party was officially rekindled with the birth of DeLuna Fest, giving Pensacola Beach another chance to party hard with three days’ worth of musical fans trampling over its surface to a mix of beach friendly diversified bands.Dates – September 21st – 23rdTickets - $199.95Getting there – Fly to Pensacola Regional Airport, take the train or bus to downtown Pensacola where a shuttle bus will take you direct to the festival site.Line-Up – Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Band of Horses, Band of Skulls, City and Colour, The Gaslight Anthem, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Joy Formidable, Guided by Voices, Walker Hayes, Dwight Yoakam, The Wood Brothers, Lights Resolve and much more to be announced soon.More info: www.DeLunafest.com

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PO

LA

ND HEINEKEN OPEN’ER

F E S T I V A L

The event takes place in Gdynia, precisely at Kosakowo Airfield. It’s existed since 2002. Back

then it was a one-day event in Warsaw. Next year it was moved to Gdynia, but it reached its current form in 2009, because of changes of location and duration. It’s organized by a concert agency, Alter Art. The event took its name from its main sponsor, Heineken beer. Open’er was named Best Major Festival by European Festival Awards, two times in a row, in 2009 and 2010. It also received Green’n’Clean Award, given only to environmentally-friendly festivals. Over the decade long history of the festival, such major artists as The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack, Faithless, The White Stripes, Placebo, Sigur Ros, Faith No More, Kanye West, Beastie Boys, Muse, Bjork, Jay-Z, Arctic Monkeys, Kings Of Leon, The Prodigy, Prince, Kasabian, Coldplay, The Strokes has performed there. Besides musical experiences, catwalk shows, various exhibitions and screenings also happen. Such a combination of arts seems to work perfectly, as previous edition attracted over 85,000 people!This year’s edition takes place on 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th of July. Amongst the already announced acts, there are such artists as Bjork, Justice, The Kills, The xx, Jamie

Woon, Mumford & Sons, M83, Bloc Party, Bat for Lashes, Bon Iver, Friendly Fires, The Mars Volta, Orbital and New Order. Obviously there are still many more musicians to come! If it comes to the tickets, good news! They’re really affordable if you’re paying in pounds. The price for all 4 days, including camping, is 410 PLN, which is slightly over £80. There are also 2 day tickets available - about £60 without camping, and less than £70 with camping. For those interested in 1-day tickets, they’re just over £30. If you don’t mind pacing through half of Europe to go to a music festival, then this is the one I really do recommend. Not only the line-up looks really promising, but also the atmosphere is really laid-back, the location itself is great, and additionally, the tickets are a true bargain in comparison to the prices of British festivals!To find out more, visit www.opener.pl/en

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T A U R O NN E W M U S I C F E S T I V A L

The idea behind the festival is to showcase artists, who highly deserve recognition, but are not mainstream performers. Tauron

focuses on electronics and dance music, as well as jazz and nu-jazz. The event was established in 2006 and has been held annually since. First, it lasted for one day only. Currently, it is 4-days long. It takes place in Katowice, the capitol city of the Upper Silesia Region of Poland. An amazing location emphasized its artistic vibe, as it is located at the site of closed down coal mine, situated in the very centre of the city. Festival stages are built right in between two mine shafts. The industrial surroundings of warehouses and production halls really complement the general atmosphere of the event, which in 2010 was named the Best European Small Festival.Previous editions have been visited by such artists as DJ Krush, Bonobo live band, Amon Tobin, Pati Yang, Fever Ray, Apparat and many more.This year, the festival is being held over 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th of August. Some of the musicians announced so far, are Hot Chip, ESKMO, Chris Clark, Saschienne, Rustie, Michael Mayer and Caribou.If it comes to the tickets, they are really cheap, because of the alternative and non-commercial feel of the event. 4 day entry passes has already been sold out! 3 day

passes cost 160PLN, which is around £32, in order to attend 2 days, you’d have to pay slightly over £25. There is also an option of going to an opening concert only, which costs only £10!If you’re in need of an experience different to most festivals and looking for an opportunity to broaden your horizons in terms of electronic and jazz music, then Tauron is the perfect event!To find out more, visit www.festiwalnowamuzyka.pl/en

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It is an event lasting for three days during summer, and it is another Polish festival promoting alternative music, with a focus on electronica.

2006 was the year that brought the primary edition of Audioriver, but 2008 was the first time that it was a ticketed event. In 2010 it was attended by over 15,000 people and was nominated for the Best Medium Sized Festival title on Festival Awards Europe. Over the years, more than 200 artists have performed during the event. Amongst these musicians, there were Simian Mobile Disco, Hadouken, Noisia, Moderat, Caspa & Rusko, Dub FX, UNKLE, Paul Kalkbrenner, DJ Fresh, M.I.A, Modeselektor, Trentemoller, The Qemists and Modestep.The festival takes place in Plock, at the beach over the Vistula river. The precise dates of 2012 edition are 27th, 28th and 29th of July. The line-up so far includes such acts as Royksopp, Enter Shikari, Black Sun Empire, SebastiAn, Cutline and Luciano. The prices of the tickets have not been announced yet, but if it comes to the previous years, the cost was always very low.It’s a great event, especially for young people, looking for a party, clubbing-like experience, but in a sophisticated and more artistic version. To find out more, visit www.audioriver.pl

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AUDIORIVERF E S T I V A L

UNITED KINGDOMF E S T I V A L G U I D E

T In The ParkDownload

CreamfieldsWickerman

Bestival

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DownloadCreamfields

Bestival

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It wouldn’t be a festival issue without at least one person mentioning T in the Park would it? From starting the beloved T-Time in 1994, T moved from

Strathclyde Country Park to the much loved Balado in 1997 and has been at home ever since. The festival is said to become “one of the most important and critically acclaimed music events on the international festival circuit” – (how fancy!). With 2012 being T’s 19th Birthday, the festival is ready to celebrate it’s last teen year with a bang. Having 200 amazing artists perform across 11 stages for three whole days, the T-lady manages to rake in music fans from all over the world. The festival has even proudly showcased some hometown bands like Biffy Clyro and The View to name a few. TITP is credible due to it’s successful and popular sponsor, Tennant’s Lager, who’s supported the music scene since the 80’s and supports T’s range of activities that highlight the weekend for everyone to join in on. From giving unsigned bands the opportunity to perform on the T-Break stage to letting the Scottish come out in everyone at the Ceilidh Tent – TITP is definitely a place that you’ll feel at home and be proud to be a Scot.Dates – Friday 6th – Sunday 8th.Ticket Prices – Weekend Camping - £189.00, Weekend with no camping - £179.00, Day passes - £77.50 (Sat/Sun). Friday - £70.50Getting there – Shuttle buses run from all over ScotlandLine-Up – Snow Patrol, Example, The Temper Trap, Olly Murs, Feeder, The Darkness, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Pulled Part by Horses, The Stone Roses, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, David Guetta, Miles Kane, Fake Blood, Blood Red Shoes, The Wailers, Alabama Shakes, Kasabian, Swedish House Mafia, Nicki Minaj, and much more!More info: www.tinthepark.com

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The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England (which hosted Monsters

of Rock between 1980 and 1996, and 2002’s Ozzfest). It usually takes place in June (although in 2003, the first day of the festival took place on the last day of May). The festival is owned and managed by Live Nation.Capacity – 100,000Dates – 8th – 10th JuneTicket prices - £155 weekend (with 5 nights camping £35) £75 day ticketsGetting there - East Midlands International Airport is only two and a half miles away and has comprehensive domestic and European flight schedules.The mainline intercity railway stations are East Midlands Parkway, Derby, Nottingham and Loughborough are approximately anything up to twenty minutes drive away and Donington Park is well served by public transport and taxi services.Info – www.downloadfestival.co.ukLine up - Skindred, Ghost, Saint Jude, Shadows Fall, My Passion, Feed The Rhino, La Dispute, Lawnmower Deth, Six Hour Sundown, Silent Descent, With One Last Breath, The Union, The Prodigy, Metallica playing their untitled ‘black album’ in its entirety, Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Chase & Status, Biffy Clyro, Slash, Rise Against, Megadeth, Steel Panther, Black Label Society, Billy Talent, Killswitch Engage, Shinedown, Black Veil Brides, NoFX, Opeth, Terrorvision, You Me At Six, Tenacious D, Machine Head, Trivium, Lamb Of God, Anthrax, Ugly Kid Joe, Europe, Anti-Nowhere League, Turbowolf.

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Creamfields is one of Britain’s largest dance music festivals and other Creamfields festivals

have been held in Argentina, Spain, Malta, Ireland, Mexico, Russia and Australia. Here, however, is a few of the people lined up to play Creamfields UK this year – Avicii, Chemical Brothers (DJ Set), Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso, David Guetta, Example, Nicky Romero, Above & Beyond, Gareth Emery, Steve Angello, Pete Tong, AN21 & Max Vangeli, Eric Prydz, John Digweed, Skrillex, Skream feat. Sgt Pokes, Annie Mac, Major Lazer, deadmau5, Calvin Harris, Zane Lowe, Tiësto, Groove Armada (DJ Set), A-Trak and Fake Blood. Dates – 24th to 26th August 2012Capacity - 40,000Ticket Price - £65 for day tickets, £135 for 3 days with camping Getting there – Shuttle buses will be running from Warrington Central Station and Runcorn Station direct to the festival site. ‘Big Green Coaches’ are also running an extensive bus service from most major UK cities.Info - www. creamfields.com

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This child-friendly festival has been held on a farm in Dumfriesshire since 2001 and has been compared to Glastonbury due to it’s eclectic variety

of musical styles. With 10 stages catering for all musical tastes and a friendly relaxed atmosphere, festival goers are assured to get their money’s worth. As always, the weekend festivities will be brought to a spectacular close with the crowd-gathering tradition of burning the 40ft Wickerman statue at midnight on Saturday.Capacity – 40,000Dates – 20th and 21st JulyTicket prices - £90 weekend (with 3 nights camping & car parking), under 13’s get in free and 13 to 15 year olds £45 Getting there – Dedicated buses travel from cities across Scotland direct to festival site.

Info - www.thewickermanfestival.co.ukLine up - Scissor Sisters, Texas, The View, Levellers, Newton Faulkner, Cast, Kassidy, Mike Skinner (DJ Set), United Fruit, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, The Blockheads, The Lafontaines, Bad Manners & the Vibrators.

WICKERMANT

his child-friendly festival has been held on a farm in Dumfriesshire since 2001 and has been compared to Glastonbury due to it’s eclectic variety of musical styles. With 10 stages catering for all musical tastes and a friendly relaxed atmosphere,

festival goers are assured to get their money’s worth. As always, the weekend festivities will be brought to a spectacular close with the crowd-gathering tradition of burning the 40ft Wickerman statue at midnight on Saturday.Capacity – 40,000Dates – 20th and 21st JulyTicket prices - £90 weekend (with 3 nights camping & car parking), under 13’s get in free and 13 to 15 year olds £45 Getting there – Dedicated buses travel from cities across Scotland direct to festival site.

Info - www.thewickermanfestival.co.ukLine up - Scissor Sisters, Texas, The View, Levellers, Newton Faulkner, Cast, Kassidy, Mike Skinner (DJ Set), United Fruit, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, The Blockheads, The Lafontaines, Bad Manners & the Vibrators.

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Probably one of, if not the quirkiest festival in the whole UK. As always, it takes place in Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight,

England, which is not an obvious location, as it’s actually a theme park with loads and loads of attractions : Colossus - swinging boat ride, The Time Machine - a 28 seat motion platform simulator and Run Rabbit - huge underground rabbit tunnels, to name only few! Bestival lasts for 4 late summer days. This year it’s 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th of September. It’s being organized by BBC Radio 1’s DJ Rob da Bank. The event itself

is considered very alternative and manifold, in terms of music played there and the atmosphere in general. Bestival is about much more than only music. What distinguishes it from other events (besides being held in a theme park, obviously!) are its fancy dress themed days(usually Saturday), crazy, fairy tale-ish decorations and a ‘secret stage’. It’s often referred to as a ‘boutique festival’, because of its non-corporate and less commercial vibe. It’s also strongly involved in supporting political, social and environmental causes, so not only can you feel like you’re stuck in Alice in Wonderland’s real life version, but also feel good about festival’s beliefs!If it comes to a tiny bit of background, it’s been held annually, since 2004. The first edition, headlined by Basement Jaxx and Fatboy Slim, gathered around 10,000 people. Over the years such

legends as Beastie Boys, The Prodigy, Flaming Lips, The Cure, Bjork, Massive Attack and Kraftwerk played at Bestival, and these line-ups certainly paid off, as in 2010 event cumulated 55,000 people. The other proof of the event’s success is the recognition it’s deserved, namely, it’s won an award for the best medium sized festival at the UK Festival Awards 4 times(2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009), and that’s not all of it! It was also named the Most Innovative Festival in 2005. In 2010 Bestival won the ‘Best Major Festival’ title, beating legendary Glastonbury in a public vote! Last year, it received ‘Fan’s favourite festival award’, in the UK Festival Awards as

well. But enough of the history!Price for the whole event is £170, which is only £10 less than the regular ‘Adult’ ticket for all 4 days. Additionally, the discount concerns over 18 full-time students only, so don’t forget to bring your ID and remember that a student ID is not treated as a proof of age! Last, but definitely not least, the most exciting thing - line-up! The headliners this year are New Order and Stevie Wonder, and the final one is yet to come! There will be something for almost every taste. The xx and Sigur Ros for

the enthusiasts of mellow, yet certainly beautiful sounds, Justice, Orbital, Nero, 2manydjs(live), Soulwax and Hot Chip for the ones looking for a party, as well as Friendly Fires, Two Door Cinema Club, The Horrors and Bat for Lashes for indie fans. Of course, these are just few of the already announced acts, and if that’s not enough, there’s many more to come. In addition, there will also be plenty of theatrical performances from the Invisible Circus and Roundhouse Performance Collective. I don’t know about you, but I would be absolutely delighted to go. And it’s not only because of a big part of the line-up that I’m loving, but also thanks to the kind of an eccentric vibe Bestival oozes. It just seems too fairyland-ish to be able to resist!To find out more, visit www.bestival.net

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INTERVIEW SECTION INTROTony ButlerFathersonVic GallowayLiam GolderJim GellatlyKith & KimAlly MacraeLee-Ann HowiesonLaw of the Chord Page 29

T O N Y B U T L E R

What kind of bands/artists were you influenced by? “I was greatly influenced by Jimi Hendrix. For me, he everything I wanted to be in music; passionate, melodic, virtuoso and creative. He was also the coolest looking guitarist ever.”

Who would you like to work with in the future?“I’m happy with the band I’ve got. I’ve already had the pleasure of working with people I have respected and have been a fan of.”

Did you have a nickname at school?“Not really.”

What’s your favourite venue you have played?“Hammersmith Odeon (as was).”

If you were an animal what would you be?“A cat.”

What’s your favourite album of all time?“Electric Ladyland”

What’s the worst gift you’ve ever received?“A carrot.”

Twitter or Facebook?“Facebook”

What was the last movie you saw? And how was it?“The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Enjoyed it.”

What’s the best thing about being a musician?“Being a musician.”

What’s your most over-used phrase or saying?“Don’t honestly know if I have one.”

“Jimi Hendrix was the coolest looking guitarist ever”

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FATHERSON

FATHERSON

“We get to travel the country meeting amazing

people and spend time

with our best friends”

What kind of bands/artists were you influenced by?“We started out as a group of friends at school listening to a lot of Biffy Clyro, Nirvana, Stereophonics. Not the coolest list of influences. As we grew up and formed Fatherson we listen to a lot of Manchester Orchestra, Tellison, Frightened Rabbit. Mostly Scottish bands, I always think the best influences come from the music you are immersed in locally and that you share common points of view with.”

Who would you like to work with in the future?“We have been lucky enough to support some of our favourite bands: Frightened Rabbit, Feeder etc. We would love to get the chance to support some bigger names as anyone would really. I think scoring a Biffy opening slot would be the pinnacle as we are from Kilmarnock also I think it would really satisfy the fourteen year old in me remembering standing at The Barrowlands in awe.”

Did you have a nickname at school?“Ross was called Gonzo at one point. That was an unfortunate school mix up between Glandular Fever and another ailment beginning with G.”

What was the last movie you saw? And how was it?“We watched Hot Rod, the film by the lonely island guys, in the van the other day. It was pretty funny; there is an incredible falling down a hill scene that perked us up.”

What’s the best thing about being a musician?“The excitement of waking up and not known exactly what could be around the corner. We get to travel the country meeting amazing people and spending time with our best friends. It a brilliant experience and worth all the hours of hard work and heart-ache it takes behind the scenes.”

What’s your most over-used phrase or saying?“Our Tour Manager Bruce over uses the word “Vibe” massively.”

What’s your favourite venue you have played?“We just played The Ironworks in Inverness which was a lovely venue, great staff and just a really friendly and nice atmosphere. We are big fans of up north so that kind of ticked all the boxes. Personally, I am really into the HMV Picture House in Edinburgh. We’ve supported Panic! At the Disco and Frightened Rabbit in there which was amazing.”

If you were an animal what would you be?“A cat. I enjoy sleeping.”

What’s your favourite album of all time?“What a tough question to drop. I can’t pick an all-time favourite. As I type this I’m listening to the new Tubelord album, check that out!”

What’s the worst gift you’ve ever received?“I have no idea. Probably when I got a PlayStation game from a grandparent when I didn’t have a PlayStation. That was a bad call.”

Twitter or Facebook?“I think of them totally differently. They each have their uses. Our band account is linked to both so it’s pretty synonymous.”

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Vic Galloway – BBC Radio 1 Scotland“ I t ’ s l i k e C h r i s t m a s e v e r y d a y f o r a m u s i c n e r d ! ”

What bands/artists are you listening to at the moment?“Errors, Django Django, RM Hubbert, Chris Devotion & The Expectations, The Twilight Sad, Discopolis, Hey Enemy, Cleavers, Capitals... ah, the list is endless!”

Did you have a nickname at school?“Vic was my nickname and it stuck!”

What’s your favourite live music venue?“The Glasgow Barrowlands”

If you were an animal what would you be?“A lion... King of the jungle!”

What’s your favourite album of all time?“This is impossible to say... Today, I’ll go for ‘Dirk Wears White Sox’ by Adam & the Ants... why not?! It was really important to me growing up!”

What’s the worst gift you’ve ever re-ceived?“A jumper with a hole in it... The moths got it before me!”

Twitter or Facebook?“Twitter”

What was the last movie you saw? And how was it?“‘Magic Trip – Ken Kesey’s Search For a Kool Place’ – it was inspiring and hilarious! A brilliant documentary with original footage and music.”

What’s the best thing about working in the music industry?“Getting free records and getting into gigs for free... It’s like Christmas every day for a music nerd!”

What’s your most over-used phrase or saying?“OK... Seriously... Time for... Awesome...” - all the usual ones! (Edit from Leeann Howieson, Broadcast Assistant: “Vic says “Braw-some” all the time – he and Steve Lamacq from 6 music have adopted it”

How did your career in the music in-dustry begin?“I was in bands for years, touring and mak-ing records. I then started working behind the scenes at wee record labels, putting on club nights and doing bits of indie PR. I was lucky enough to get a break and make a demo for BBC Radio 1 in 1999. I got the job and was there for over 11 and half years... the rest is history!”

Do you have any top tips for music business hopefuls?“Know your music and be passionate about it. Be friendly and hard-working. Leave your ego at home and don’t expect to get rich. Do it for the love of doing it!”

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What kind of artists/bands were you influ-enced by on making the last record?“Most people that know me know I am a huge Beatles fan there song writing is a big influ-ence on the lyrics I write, and in particular John Lennon. Other big influences for the album are Michael Jackson, Queen, Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, Abba, Stevie Wonder for his upbeat style and many more favourites

around the world and visit every-one.”

What is your favourite al-bum of all time?“It would have to be The Beatles Red album but Michael Jackson Thriller next.”

What’s the worst Xmas gift you have ever received?“To be honest never had a bad one, as have a very generous group of family and friends.”

Twitter or Facebook?“It would be Facebook out of the two...but only when there is enough interaction.”

What was the last movie you saw? And how was it?“The last film was the New ‘The Thing’ movie very good film, but the 1982 version is a favourite of all time. Hopefully many others have enjoyed it also.”

What is your favourite thing about being an artist/Musi-cian?“It’s got to be entertaining people in an inspirational way, that’s really the main aim.”

including Joanne Bayley my fiancée as she was a big inspiration behind all the songs. So all these artists have influenced my latest album. Thanks for this interview by the way.”

Is there any artist/musician that you would like to work with in the future?“I’ve already wrote for a Herman’s Hermit and an album with Sham69 writer, but itwould be a dream to work with or write with Robert Plant or Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin my big-gest rock band of all time aside from The Beatles. There track ‘Stairway to Heaven’ got me into playing the guitar....But saying that writing with Bjorn from Abba would be awesome be a song writing dream, he is so creative and talented at writing great Pop songs. “

Did you have a nickname at school?“Yes it was ‘Limbo’ for no real rea-son other than it started with Li for Liam that was it.Many family members still use the name now after 20 years. Perhaps it’s a secret word for you fool.“

What’s your favourite venue you have played?“I played at a Holiday Camp in Es-sex this year in the Summer track ‘Going the Distance’ went down well, my fiancée Joanne also was singing and when she watched me in the crowd it was magic.”

If you were an animal what would you be?“Great question...animals are great really...probably a bird as you can fly

L I A M G O L D E R“Stairway to Heaven’ got me into playing the guitar”

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Jim GellatyT h e V o i c e o f N e w M u s i c i n S c o t l a n d

“A panda looks like it’s having a rather good time.”

What bands/artists are you listening to at the moment?“It does vary from day to day. I’m currently enjoying a Lanark-shire indie band called John Wean and a 17 year old French electronic artist called Madeon.”Did you have a nickname at school?“Yes. Several. Most of them not very nice.”What’s your favourite live music venue?“Probably the Barrowland in Glasgow”If you were an animal what would you be?“A panda looks like having a rather good time.”What’s your favourite al-bum of all time?“It tends to change all the time,

but my stock answer is We Are The League from Anti Nowhere League.”What’s the worst gift you’ve ever received?“It’s all about the giving not receiving… which my wife didn’t appreciate when I got her a salad spinner for Christmas a couple of years ago.”Twitter or Facebook?“Both are equally loathsome as breeding grounds for hate… but I’m obsessed. I probably prefer Twitter.”What was the last movie you saw? And how was it?“Hope Floats on the telly. Hated it. I’d rather watch a comedy.”What’s the best thing about working in the mu-sic industry?“Being in a position to hear

things early on and watch them develop.”What’s your most over-used phrase or saying?“they’re amazing”How did your career in the music industry be-gin?“2 weeks work experience at MFR in Inverness. I ended up staying for 3 years.”Do you have any top tips for music business hope-fuls?“Stick in at it and enjoy. It’s not about the money, money, money” as the lyrical genius Jessie J once said.”

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LIAM CAIRNSF R O M K I T H A N D K I NWhat kind of bands/artists were you influenced by? “All kinds of music, some influential artists would be Neil Young, Radiohead, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Bjork, Nick Drake, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin.”Who would you like to work with in the future? “Dream collaboration would be to work with a band like Radiohead or a producer/arranger like Quincy Jones or George Martin.”Did you have a nickname at school? “Nope”What’s your favourite venue you have played? “The Captain’s Rest or King Tut’s”If you were an animal what would you be? “An eagle”What’s your favourite album of all time? “Too many to choose from, maybe something along the lines of Abbey Road by The Beatles, Amnesiac by Radiohead, Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan, Zuma by Neil Young, The Heart of a Saturday Night by Tom Waits, Bon Iver by Bon Iver or The Reminder by Feist”What’s the worst gift you’ve ever re-ceived? “A necklace”Twitter or Facebook? “BOTH! @kithkinmusic, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kith-Kin/152430714833061”

What was the last movie you saw? And how was it? “Melancholia – Intense, beautiful and brilliant”What’s the best thing about being a musician? “Playing to big, responsive crowds”What’s your most over-used phrase or saying?““June,” it being the answer to the question “When are some new Kith & Kin recordings going to be available to hear on soundcloud?” - http://soundcloud.com/kith-kin”

“Dream collaboration would be to work with a band like

Radiohead”

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ALLY MACRAEO F B B C R A D I O 1 S C O T L A N D

What bands/artists are you listening to at the moment? “At this exact moment I am listening through to Miaoux Miaoux ‘s new album for the first time. It is LUCIOUS”Did you have a nickname at school?“At Uni I was called Bambi”What’s your favourite live music venue? “Bar Bloc, Glasgow is one…” If you were an animal what would you be? “Giraffe I suppose, I’m dead tall and stuff.” What’s your favourite album of all time? “Huge question, but it’s probably Biffy – The Ver-tigo of Bliss.”What’s the worst gift you’ve ever re-ceived? “Nothing, gifts are always nice.” Twitter or Facebook? “Twitter, big time.” What was the last movie you saw? And how was it? “Re-watched Titantic. Still gutted for big Jack in the end.” What’s the best thing about working in the music industry? “The energy, excitement and… live music.”What’s your most over-used phrase or saying? “Probably just saying stuff excellent.” How did your career in the music indus-try begin? “Used to be in bands / Student radio”

“At Uni I was called Bambi”

L E E - A N N H OW I E S O NWhat bands/artists are you listening to at the moment?“Hector Bizerk, United Fruit, Kobi Onyame, Loki, Miaoux Miaoux, Teklo, Tactus, Profisee, M83, Little Dragon. Too many to list.”Did you have a nickname at school?“Just Lee, Lee Lee and for some reason Peel. My brother came up with that when we were growing up and I made the mistake of telling my pals in high school.”What’s your favourite live music venue?“Barrowlands but I love intimate gigs at Captain’s Rest too.”If you were an animal what would you be?“I have a similar ethos to a dog. Getting very excited by minor things”What’s your favourite album of all time?“I vary. I listen to an album to death and then move on. If I had to choose one I keep going back to it would be Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder.”What’s the worst gift you’ve ever received?“A pink glittery purse.” Twitter or Facebook?“Twitter”What was the last movie you saw? And how was it?“I’m massively into zombie movies so watched the Dawn of the Dead remake the other night. Awesome movie but I prefer 28 Days Later.” What’s the best thing about working in the mu-sic industry?“Getting to know so many brilliant people, going to gigs, discovering new and exciting music. Everything.”What’s your most over-used phrase or saying?“That’s hilarious. Why don’t I just laugh?”How did your career in the music industry be-gin?“Studied at college, got work experience at XFM Scotland and got kept on, worked at Forth One then got my job at the BBC five years ago.” Do you have any top tips for music business hopefuls?“Don’t let anybody tell you it’s impossible to get a job in the industry, work hard and be nice.”

“I have a similar ethos to a dog”

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L A W O F T H EC H O R D

“stereo in Glasgow is a really cool un-

derground place and massive stage with a great sound system”

What kind of bands/artists were you influ-enced by?We have a very wide taste in music, but we love bands like The Stone Roses, The Smiths, Joy division, Happy Mondays, the Libertines.Who would you like to work with in the fu-ture? If he was still alive, Tony Wilson, love factory records and all their bands.Did you have a nickname at school? Yes our guitarist was Sparky our drummer was Bone-man and our bassist was Steveo, they have all stuck aswell.What’s your favourite venue you have played? I think it would be ‘stereo’ in Glasgow, really cool un-derground place and massive stage with a great sound system, love playing there! If you were an animal what would you be? I’d be a gerbil :) I had one once, the shop keeper told me we didn’t have to feed him for the first two weeks that he would eat what his home is made of, I woke up a week later and he had starved to death.What’s your favourite album of all time? Don’t think I can really answer that, so many good ones, but I love ‘shadows collide with people’ by John Frusciante.What’s the worst gift you’ve ever received? Not really had to many bad ones, have gave a good few tho lol Twitter or Facebook? Facebook.What was the last movie you saw? And how was it? Last movie I saw was with my girlfriend it was called ‘water for elephants’ I think, thought it was gonna be a really bad romance cause it had that guy from Twilight in it, but I thought it was alright like, was good.What’s the best thing about being a musi-cian? Travelling with your mates and meeting new people and getting to play your own music in front of a crowd.What’s your most over-used phrase or say-ing? “nine!” we use it all the time and it means taking along time, ‘your taking nine’

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REVIEWSE

OITC

NALBUM REVIEWS

FILM REVIEWS

GIG REVIEWS

Marilyn Manson - Born written by Jennifer KuczaJack White - Blunderbuss witten by Connor LewisTrain - California written by JohnJoe Cameron

Radio Arcade EP LaunchThe Big StooshieGrimes LIVE REVIEW BY BRAM E. GIEBEN

Cabin in the woods written by Jennifer KuczaChronicle written by JohnJoe Cameron The Avengers

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ALBUMPersonally, I’m always looking for-ward to any of their releases, as they’ve been favourite musicians of my childhood / early teen years and I do still have a weakness for them. ‘Born Villain’ lasts around an hour, and listening to the whole album is definitely not a waste of time. The tracks are a bit reminiscent of their earlier stuff, recorded during best years of their career so far, rather than the new songs. The album as a whole seems to be some kind of a fresh start, for both Brian and the band as a whole. Like a new take on their old approach. It is sort of sinister and psychotic, as you would expect it to be, yet still somehow catchy. I wouldn’t call it the masterpiece of the century, but there are undoubtedly some really good tunes I will be hum-ming for the next few days. Overall, both lyrically and musically, it’s a solid set of tracks, and even though it is that kind of a band, whose work just won’t appeal to some people, it sure is worth giving a try (especially if you’ve ever been a fan)!Oh, and there is something for those curious about Johnny Depp’s abilities as a guitarist, as he is the one playing in the cover of ‘You’re So Vain’(bonus track on the album), which, by the way, is quite a snappy rendition of the 70s hit.

From the guys who brought us that an-noyingly catchy song, “Hey, Soul Sister”, comes the tenth top selling album of 2012 (so far, obviously). California 37, for me, was irritating. I wish I could just leave it there, but if I don’t write a review, the time I spent listening to this album will have been a complete waste. I’m prob-ably being overly harsh, but only because I expected an album with such high sales to offer more. This album is filled with dull songs filled with references to pop culture, and songs armed with huge can-dyfloss pop choruses such as “Mermaid” and “50 Ways to Say Goodbye”. Admit-tedly the album does improve nearer the end and it’s not because it’s nearly finished. The highlight of the album for me is “We were made for this”. The last few songs seem to steer, if only slightly, away from trying to be a “hit”, which to me makes them much more appealing.So, a quick summary:I didn’t like it. But make your own mind up! Give it a listen and let me know if you disagree at [email protected].

In the aftermath of his previous incarna-tions (The Dead Weather, The Racon-teurs and The White Stripes), Jack White has been working on his solo career and giving us the music he loves. So because Jack loves blues, this album is heavily influenced by the old blues tracks that he listened to as a child. Although most tracks may come across as nostalgic to those lifelong White Stripes fans who own the back catalogue De stijil, White blood cells and their first self-titled album, if you liked any of these albums you are going to love ‘Blunderbuss’.”I’m Shakin’” is a 50’s swing eccentric based track which would leave even your grandparents doing the jive in their seat and the title track ‘Blunderbuss’ with its piano and acoustic based song which makes you want to grab the nearest person and slow dance. It all comes together though as the modern twist of Jack White’s voice leaves us feeling as passionate as he sounds.Every track on this album is set to please each listener from die-hard Jack White fans, to Blues fans and just to the gen-eral public. Blunderbuss goes from its easy listening, slow dance tracks to a trip to Jack Whites past with its solo guitar shredding epic. It’s been said that Jack loves a challenge, he has always used old equipment to record every album, but to spice it up more he recorded part of his album with an all-female band and the other part with an all-male band, just to give himself “more of a challenge”. What I say to Jack White is you have done yourself proud and left a lot of people with more pleased ears with your outstanding solo album ‘Blunderbuss’.

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G IGSHeld at the Jam Jar, Dunfermline, Ra-dio Arcade launched their 2nd EP after almost a year after their first one. With support from the talented and local bands such as Waiting on Jack and Astrid & Quinn. For it being my first time seeing Astrid & Quinn they definitely raised to my expectations and had a very summery and energetic yet soothing set. They re-flected bands like Friendly Fires, Arcade Fire and The Maccabees which isn’t a bad thing at all. Their style is very unique within this area and I think they con-trasted from the support and main act of the night. For it being around my fifth time seeing Waiting on Jack, they still per-formed excellently and never fail to let the crowd down. Being very similar in style to Radio Arcade, they are a band you can’t get bored of seeing as each time they remain slightly the same – which I think works well with their genre of music.

With it being their 2nd EP launch and second time performing at the Jam Jar, they managed to rake in a hefty crowd. They started off their set with “Killing Time” and extended the intro which col-

lectively created haunting effects around the venue and helped compliment their performance as a whole. Ultimately, they performed their EP and offered it on the night – which I think went really well for it being the first of many excellent gigs. Things are going extremely well for the Fife quartet as they’ve already supported upcoming bands like Fatherson (an of-ficial SAMA award winner) and Glasgow’s Hip Parade, they are set for performing at Cupar’s charity festival: The Big Stooshie on the 5th of May with successful bands like The Hoosiers and Glasvegas then supporting General Fiasco in the same week. Follow the bands on twitter! @AstridAndQuinn@_RadioArcade@WaitingOnJack

Music festival season officially begun this May bank holiday in the shape of The Big Stooshie. The first music festi-val date in the Scottish diary, giving an undercover experience like none before. A total of 62 bands descended to the hills of Giffordtown near Fife for one common goal, charity! Unsigned, up and com-ing and well-known artists all performed over three days in an aim to raise money for SSAFA and Help For Heroes. Each day was filled with every genre taste you could cater for Disco, Indie, Pop, Punk, Rock and Ska over two stages, revellers were practically overdosing on choice.Despite the line-up including The Hoo-siers, James, Glasvagas, The Damned and Ocean Colour Scene, the relatively small audiences deserted early for their buses, cars and tents. However, even though tickets sales were slow, The Big Stooshie offered a plethora of choice,

cause and an enterprising start to the festival line up for 2012.Last word has to go to Major Tim Gran-tham, the representative for Help for Heroes ;“What a weekend – I would like to thank the team so much for all your efforts in making the event go along with a buzz!It was apparent as the weekend pro-gressed the numbers were not as had been hoped – this was certainly not due to you or your team and all the pre event promotion. I guess like many events the ‘first’ one is always the most difficult – look at T In The Park! I appreciate due to this you will be unable to apportion any direct income from the ticket sales. We did, however, manage to sell some prod-uct and wristbands over the period.As far as I am concerned you did Help for Heroes proud we had the opportunity to increase awareness as to what the Charity does plus importantly H4H ben-efitted from all your pre event promotion campaign.

Canadian experimental electro-pop darling Claire Boucher aka Grimes’ set is a piecemeal, halting affair – problems with equipment and the loss of her setlist prove challenging obstacles for the young artiste, and frequent calls for the engineer to turn up her keys and vocals take their toll, frustration showing on her face. Neither these technical problems or the heat of the oversold venue can dimin-ish the power of her majestic, contradic-tory pop anthems; equal parts polish and sheen, and defiant, wilful experimental-ism.What Bouch-er perhaps lacks in clas-sic songwrit-ing ability, she makes up for in spades with her strong sense of dynamics and innovative vocal perfor-mances. Her voice alternates between ethereal, FX-assisted flights of melody and strange, childlike growls, yelps and squeaks, all of these woven into a tapestry of beautiful, intricate electronic beats.There are bands you could point to as influences – from Cocteau Twins and Massive Attack to Tori Amos. Others you could mention as peers, from Glass Candy to more esoteric acts like But-terclock. CRIM3S go deeper and darker; are more challenging. Rihanna has a bigger marketing budget. But few of them have the same masterful control of digital effects, performance style, or most impor-tantly, production.On tracks like Genesis and Be A Body, Grimes combines experimental elec-tronica with staggeringly infectious pop in a way which is completely unique. She uses her voice as an instrument, bend-ing templates for dreamy electro-pop and R&B into something dark, intoxicating and deliciously sweet. The gig ends pre-maturely due to the technical issues, but the crowd are hungry for more.

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F I L M S

At first, it seems like Cabin In The Woods is that typical American slasher, we’ve all seen a hundred times. Group of friends decide to leave the town for their spring break. But obviously, it comes out that the summerhouse is not such a perfect getaway after all. And while that sounds really repeatable, there actually is a twist, and going to the cinema, just as the main characters, you do get something com-pletely different than foreseen. In case of that film, the ‘less is more’ rule definitely does not apply! There is a bit of every-thing. Humour, sinister scheme and loads of action. Just what you could’ve asked for, from director/writer Drew Goddard, known for Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Lost, and writer Joss Wheldon, who’s also worked on Buffy and directed the latest blockbuster - The Avengers. If you’re looking for a serious movie with scenes that will haunt you at nights, then this is probably not the best choice. But if it’s something refreshingly silly, yet not unduly stupid, you’re after, Cabin In The Woods is the one to go for! And even though at times you find yourself thinking ‘What the hell?!’, the film is very enter-taining nonetheless.

Over the past decade, Marvel Comics heroes like the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America have each starred in their own films. And each individual installment offered tantalizing hints of a monumental big screen superhero gathering. Well, comic book fans, the wait is over, and it was worth it: critics say “Marvel’s The Avengers” is terrific enter-tainment, a giant-sized helping of thrilling action set pieces with enough humor and character development to please non-Marvel fanatics. When Thor’s brother Loki steals the tesseract (the mysterious power source used by the Red Skull in “Captain America”) espionage ace Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) assembles a team of superheroes to retrieve it. Dubbed the Avengers, the newly-formed group — comprised of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Ev-ans), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) — must battle a mysterious extraterrestrial force in order to save humanity.

This is a movie that had no shortage of hype, due to some brilliant trailers which showed you just enough to leave you wanting to know more. The super-power type movies are as popular as ever, and this movie managed to tap into that audience without morphing into the same kind of “superhero” story we’ve seen so much of recently. The idea of three teen-age guys somehow gaining powers is not a new one, but this movie is different in that it shows you what normal teenagers would really use these powers for, which is the main source of humour throughout. Obviously though they could only go so far with that, so at some point something dramatic had to happen otherwise the movie would have had somewhat of an anti –climax. The trailers hint at what goes wrong, and when you’re watching it’s not all that difficult to guess what’s go-ing to happen, but that doesn’t mean you stop watching, the combination of visual effects presents an array of explosions and things flying through the air and crashing into other things is always going to keep your attention.All in all I really enjoyed Chronicle, it lived up to the hype, which doesn’t happen all that often. It will also leave you wishing you could have cool powers too; I spent the rest of the night after watching it try-ing to move things with my mind. No luck yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

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